Lysander supervisor addresses accusations

In response to town clerk Lisa Dell’s accusations made at the May 19 town board meeting, Supervisor John Salisbury addressed in detail the sequence of events leading up to the proposed boys’ group home to be built on Doyle Road, as well as the April 24 meeting Dell claimed was illegal.

“This is not an argumentative presentation,” Salisbury said. “Just facts that I’ve been able to find out over the last two weeks.”

He began with the whereabouts of the March 18, 2013 letter sent by Toomey Residential and Community Services to notify the town of its project and finished with the purchase offer that was finalized in March 2014. Salisbury then addressed the April 24 meeting.

“We have never had an illegal meeting,” he said. “The meeting of April 24, 2014 was called by the town’s attorney at which all town board members were in attendance.”

The meeting, he said, was called to discuss items covered under attorney/client privilege, which are exempt from open meeting laws. “No minutes are to be taken and no notice is required.”

Councilor Melinda Shimer later asked Councilor Roman Diamond about his investigation into an alleged illegal meeting that Diamond was told took place at Lysander Town Hall between Salisbury, Shimer and Councilor Andy Reeves. Diamond requested 35 hours of security footage to review. Shimer said she wasn’t at town hall that day, but had she been present, the meeting would still have been legal. The three elected officials campaigned together under the party, Lysander First, which is a political committee registered with New York state. Salisbury said because Lysander First is a political committee, they can meet in a caucus at any time.

Motion defeated

Though councilors Bob Geraci and Diamond urged other board members to vote in favor of reappointing Dell as the Freedom of Information (FOIL) officer, the resolution was defeated 3-2, with Salisbury, Shimer and Reeves voting no. When Dell asked why the responsibility was taken from her in the first place, Salisbury and Reeves refused to answer.